RIP Tangs :(

[FroggyFox]

It greatly saddens me to be writing this. The heater got stuck on or out of whack somehow in my 55 and last night when I went to feed them two of my biggest fish in the tank were floaters. I went to get them out thinking maybe they just fought over territory or something and both died...but when I opened the lid a cloud of hot air hit me and my stomach just dropped. Thermometer said it was over 98 degrees!! ugh. So unplugging the heater, ice cubes, some cold water changes, set a fan up over the open lid and I got it down to 90 before I dropped in some ice packs in baggies to float and went to bed last night. This morning got up to assess the damage. Only my little 4" JD and the pleco (common) survived. Everyone else is MIA or I took their bodies out this morning. I didn't want to harass them last night and move their rocks around to see who was still alive...but I'm missing some bodies even after moving rocks this morning so I'm guessing they jumped out of the tank. Poor guys, I feel so bad. And it was a freaken new ebo jager heater too...seemed like it was ok, highly reccomended brand. At the last water change I turned it down a little bit because the tank seemed a bit warm (at 82ish) but apparantly the dial is broken or something because its set at 76.

Ah well...such is life I guess. RIP Brichardis & Julies & my comp

 

[Jayrod7]

sad to hear that, that happened with my brothers 10 gallon, the heater or something broke and the temp was at 96, all he had in htere was 3 platies though.

 

[SANND]

Sorry to hear about your losses Froggy

 

[Katie217]

that really sucks, i hate that feeling when u try to do something right for the tank (or fish) and it all turns out horrible. im guessing the tangs ur talking about are the type of cichlid?

 

[FroggyFox]

Thanks guys. Yep...the ones who died were all cichlids from lake tanganyika. I'm scared to put a new heater in there...but we're having a cold snap this week...

 

[nealio]

Wow that is horrible! I'm sorry for your loss.

I have a Marineland Neptune 100w heater in my 28G and I had a similar heater problem as well. I went to bed and it was 84degs steady, when I woke up it was 93degs! The dial hasn't moved in a month or two and all of a sudden it did a quick change, I turned the dial all the way to the right, and the back to the left, and it started to work right again. Now I have a hard time trusting that heater. Thank god none of my fish died, but I’m sure it put a lot of stress on them.

Not to side track, but can anyone suggest the most reliable heater they have used. I would like to replace my heater, but I’m not sure with what model. I would prefer for it to have a temp gage on it so I can set it to a specific temp rather than just a +/- mode.

 

[MOsborne05]

Sorry about your losses Froggy That's why I don't have a heater in my tank. I know I should and I've been thinking about getting one just to keep the temp steady for my angel, but after my last heater malfunction I don't really trust them. My heater malfunctioned in the shrimp tank and literally cooked my ghost shrimp, their little bodies were bright pink!

 

[silver dollars]

I am so sorry for your loss!!

 

[mattistat]

that happennd to my lfs one time in a feeder fish tank that is always overstalked and the fish were all floating it was sad that all the fish died it was like a gta vidio game but sorryfor your losses

 

[FroggyFox]

Sorry about your losses Froggy That's why I don't have a heater in my tank. I know I should and I've been thinking about getting one just to keep the temp steady for my angel, but after my last heater malfunction I don't really trust them. My heater malfunctioned in the shrimp tank and literally cooked my ghost shrimp, their little bodies were bright pink!

Thing is...I lost two fish in another tank last night and the only thing it could be was the temperature getting too low because that one is on an outside wall and doesn't have a heater. SO I am off to petsmart tonight to find some more heaters. Good lord. When it rains it pours I guess.

Nealio- before this I would have said the ebo jager heaters are great, before I got them I would have suggested the Hagen Tronic heaters...but all in all its really just touch and go. Of course the kindof heaters where you set the temperature with a click instead of just blindly turning the knob a little are way better...but once you take that step up they are all pretty similar. Be sure to keep an eye on the temperature, make sure to have a large enough heater for the tank size so that it doesn't get overworked, as well its a good idea to have more than one heater in a larger tank for more even temperature water etc